Dental Lawsuit Filed By Parents Of Finley Boyle In Hawaii

A family in Hawaii has filed suit against a dentist after a visit for a root canal procedure left their 3-year-old daughter brain dead. On Dec. 3, Ashely Boyle, a registered nurse, took her daughter Finley to Island Dentistry in Kailua to undergo four root canals. Before the procedure took place, to be done by Dr. Lilly Geyer, Finley was given a highly potent mixture of sedatives, including Demerol, a fast-acting opioid analgesic. Twenty-six minutes later, the young girl went into cardiac arrest. Finley’s parents say that their daughter did not receive immediate CPR.

The lawsuit filed against Dr. Geyer claims that the staff at Island Dentistry was not prepared for this type of emergency. It’s alleged that during the incident, staff had to ask for help from a pediatrician in the same building. It’s contended that the entire mishap could have been avoided if staff had properly administered the sedatives and monitored Finley’s vital signs.

Dental records from the morning of the procedure show only three notations on Finley’s vital signs. According to guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, vital signs should be monitored and documented at least every five minutes for patients under sedation. Finley was pronounced dead on Jan. 3. Rick Fried, a lawyer with Cronin Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks, located in Honolulu, Hawaii, represents the family in this lawsuit. He says that most of the dental work was unnecessary to begin with and that the staff didn’t take necessary precautions.